It was only at the break of the dawn that the sound ceased. People looked finally relieved that they no longer had to listen to it. All looked tired from the sleepless night. For a while the people stayed in the streets outside, but after sometime they went inside their homes, hoping to get a few hours’ worth of sleep before they got along with their daily chores.
I tossed and turned in my bed. I was very tired, yet no sleep came to me.
Then later on that day, towards the noon, some of the soldiers came to my house. Among them were some to whom Zurk and I had spoken about the succubus.
“You said you saw a succubus yesterday, didn’t you?” one of them queried.
“I did. I killed her, like I told you.”
The man scratched his beard.
“What if she comes again,” he said, as if he had not heard the second part of what I had said.
“She won’t,” I told him, “I killed her. But another succubus just might come. And one thing, yesterday just before I saw the Succubus, my friend Zurk and I heard the strange sound that we heard yesterday night. Only it didn’t last as long as it did during the night.”
“So you are saying the sound and the succubus may be related?”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. I doubted though that it could be a coincidence.
Just then a soldier came running. He went to the higher ranked soldier and whispered something in his ears. The soldier seemed quite excited.
The higher ranked soldier scratched his hair.
“Great,” he said, “now a wizard has arrived to our town on an elephant. What more could we want?”
In a few minutes the entire town had gathered in the town square. The mayor was there, and with him was a wizard. The great elephant that had brought the wizard stood a few metres away from the two of them, flapping its massive ears to keep away the heat. Just behind the elephant’s head sat a mahout. Beside the elephant there stood what was the tallest white horse I had ever seen.
The mayor cleared his throat. He looked grim. He was a big-bellied good-natured man who was usually prone to cracking jokes, but today he didn’t seem like he was going to tell any joke. He seemed to have aged over the night.
“My good people,” he said. “We all heard the eerie sound that took over our town yesterday night. This good wizard here, who has travelled over a long distance to get to us, seems to know what the sound really is. He wants to help us. I will let him explain the matters to you himself.”
The mayor gestured the wizard to speak.
The wizard took a step forward and made a small bow to the people. He began to speak.
“The sound that you heard yesterday night was actually an echo of The Devil’s Song from a long time ago.” The people gasped at the name of the devil. “It is more or less a warning, an omen you can call it, of bad times that are forthcoming.” The wizard sighed as though he didn’t really want to break the news, “Yes, my friends, all of you are in for a bad time. That is how the nature of our world is. We constantly need to claim our world. Good times will only return after we win. I have been following the echoes of the song for a good while now, and believe me their intensity is only increasing.”
“You said we’ll need to win to get back our good times,” one person said and I realised it was none other than Zurk, who was among the people standing the nearest to the wizard. “How do we win?”
“That’s exactly what I am here for,” the wizard said, “I know a ritual through which one of you, the fittest, will be selected. That person must journey to the stronghold of the succubi queen and bring her downfall.”
The mention of the word ‘Succubi’ sent a fresh wave of murmur rippling through the crowd. The mayor stepped forward, his lips pursed in a serious manner.
“Yes, my friends, I would have not wanted to tell this to you at all, but a succubus was sighted near our town yesterday.” And he stepped back, allowing the wizard to continue speaking.
“But let me tell you, while only one of you would go in search of the succubi queen, the strength of you all will be required in the ritual tonight. Only the most worthy person amongst you will be selected, and the person will be bestowed the ability to see their stats.”
“Like players?” one person asked. In this part of the Second World there were few players. As such the town comprised of NPCs and I was the only player who resided in it. It had taken me a while to get acceptance into the town. But in the Second World there wasn’t much distinction made between the life of a player and an NPC if you ignore the fact that the players could level up and be notified each time that happened. The NPCs did gain new levels and learnt new skills, but they were not notified like players, and they also couldn’t view their health, mana or strength and other attributes. NPCs were more or less like real world humans.
“Exactly,” the wizard said. “And your mayor has given me the permission to carry out the ritual as it is only for the best interests of the town. Tonight, we shall all gather here in this town square. You can disperse to your homes and deal with your daily chores for now. But when the sun sets be sure to come here, for it is for the protection of your town, your home.”
The people began to disperse. I waited for a while and met up with Zurk.
“Do you trust him?” Zurk asked me as we made towards our homes.
“Whom?”
“The wizard obviously.”
“If the mayor does, the I do,” I said. The mayor had ruled the place well for the past many decades. I was not very fond of the mayor’s son who tended to get too pompous sometimes, but the mayor was a good person and a wise leader. If he had allowed the wizard to organise the ritual then he had given much thought to it and he trusted the wizard.
“You know,” Zurk said, “what if the wizard was the one who brought the creepy sounds?”
I shook my head.
“You think too much Zurk,” I told him. “We’ll know soon anyway. If the ritual works that is.”
The people arrived at the town square even before the sun had set. The wizard and the mayor waited. Once the darkness had taken over, the wizard began to mumble a strange incantation. All other sounds died away and the people present became very quiet. Suddenly, the wizard let out a shout and at that very moment a flame burst into existence in his hands. It was a green flame and it was a big one, yet it did not cause any harm to its creator, the wizard.
“Every one,” the wizard instructed, “Please hold hands with the people that are besides you.” The wizard gestured to the mayor to join the crowd as well. The mayor came and stood next to his son and his brother and joined hands with them.
“The flame shall choose the saviour of this village,” the wizard said. And he began the strange incantation once more. To everyone’s awe, the flame left the hand of the wizard, and it came floating towards the crowd of people. While most were excited as the flame hovered over the heads of the individual people, there were some who let out frightened sounds. No wonder, how often do you see floating flames? It was something that had never occurred in this quiet part of the world.
After a matter of minutes, the flame came towards me and Zurk. It hovered over Zurk’s head.
“Is it deciding whether I am fit for the job?” Zurk said to me.
“Well, are you?” I asked him.
“To be honest, I am not sure,” Zurk said, looking with some fear at the flame over his head. “I am better at being a carpenter and at catching fish.”
The moment he said this, the flame left his head and then it came for me. The hair of my body stood on their ends. I prayed that the flame would pass over to the person next to me. I didn’t want to be a hero much as I wanted the well being of the town. The Succubi were at the centre of the problems and I had no wish of dealing with them.
My heart fell the more the flame lingered over my head.
“Please go,” I thought.
Instead of leaving, it descended down onto my body. Everyone around me gasped and the wizard clapped his ha
nds. The fire wasn’t hot at all and it did no harm to my skin or to my clothes. But my heart was beating madly. I did not want to be the hero… please no!
“Our hero has been selected!” the wizard proclaimed. “Please, whoever you are do come forward.”
“Go!” Zurk whispered to me. The flames were burning all around me and he was trying hard to avoid any contact with them.
“Darn it,” I whispered. The crowd parted a way for me. I reluctantly placed one foot in front of the other and soon I reached the wizard. The wizard beamed brightly at me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and the moment he did so the flames vanished.
“The flames have made their decision,” he said to me, “and they have chosen you, my friend. But I know that you might not want to embark on this perilous quest. It is perfectly okay. I can ask the flames to choose another person, but that person would not be as worthy as you and might not be able to complete the quest. Still, I want the decision to be yours, for you have the right to decide. Do you want to be the hero?”
Of course, I didn’t.
I imagined telling that to the wizard. But I was pretty sure the consequence will be that the townsfolk would start to avoid all forms of contact with me and I would eventually have to leave the town. Declining to accept being the hero would be the same as saying that I had no love for the town and the people who lived in it. I reckoned I didn’t really have a choice.
I nodded at the wizard.
“Yes,” I said. The wizard’s beam grew and the crowd began to cheer.
“We always knew you had it in you!” someone cheered. While I knew that ultimately this was bad, still I couldn’t help but relish the jubilation of the crowd.
“So, I get to see my stats?” I asked the wizard. The wizard looked deep into my eyes, and his own eyes began to glow green as if he was seeing into my mind.
“You used to be able to see stats before?” the wizard asked. “Are you a player?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Interesting, but you chose to renounce the ability to see stats, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I said. There was no point in lying.
“Well, well,” the wizard said. “Could you please sit down on the ground? I will begin the next phase of the ritual in which you will receive the powers that will aid you in completing the quest. Once the quest is completed, if you choose, you can renounce these powers.”
“Okay,” I said and I promptly sat down. The wizard began to move around me in circles, mumbling strange spells all the while. I felt myself get dizzy. The sounds of the crowd began to fade. My eyelids began to drop. Just before I fell asleep, I saw a strange aura rise from the crowd and channel towards me.
Then there was blackness.
When I opened my eyes next, I was still in the town square and I was still in a sitting up position. I rubbed my eyes, feeling like I had woken up from a very deep sleep. I felt a hand on my shoulder: the wizard’s.
“You can now get up, friend,” the wizard said to me.
I pushed myself up.
“Do you see anything different?” the wizard asked with a smile.
It was only then did I realise that my peripheral vision was filled with health, mana and strength bars, and icons that showed the accessories I had, the spells I knew (which were zero), the money I had (a small sum) and my level as well. I could also open a character sheet that contained all the information about me. With some effort I was able to will the bars and icons to vanish. And then I again willed them to reappear.
“I can see my stats,” I said to the wizard.
“He can see stats!” the wizard announced and the crowd cheered in excitement.
“You said I would need to travel to distant places,” I said to the wizard. “How will I know where to go?”
The wizard snapped his finger and the next moment a complete map of the Second World appeared in his hand. There were certain points in the map that were glowing magically. The wizard handed the map to me. I looked at the glowing points. Almost all of them were in the sub-continent, but each point was hundreds of kilometres away from the others. There was on particularly bright point to the north of the sub-continent, which I reckoned was more important than the other glowing points.
“Will I need to visit all of these points?” I asked the wizard.
“Yes,” the wizard said. “You must visit as many of them as you can. The big glowing spot is the main stronghold of the succubi queen, a place called Mount Succubus. Once you gather the knowledge on how to bring about the downfall of the succubi queen, you must go to Mount Succubus and face her. And yes, you don’t need to carry this map around in your hands. You can absorb it into your mind!”
“How?” I asked. I had never done anything of the kind, not even in my times when I had access to my stats. Was it even possible?
“Just will it,” the wizard said. I did so. I couldn’t help but gasp as the map vanished in my hand. A notification appeared at the centre of my vision. It was a translucent message.
You have absorbed a map!
The next moment a new icon appeared in the periphery of my vision with the letter ‘M’ on it. With merely the will of my mind I was able to open the icon, and the map appeared in my vision, showing all the glowing points, much like the real version which had existed in my hands just a few seconds back. I closed the map.
“When should I start on the journey?” I asked the wizard.
“Up to you,” the wizard said, “Now wouldn’t be a terrible time.”
I nodded. This quest needed to be completed as fast as possible. But I wouldn’t leave right now. I would spend a final night in my house. I had already accepted the trouble of being the hero, the guinea pig. If the townsfolk complained at me not leaving immediately, then damn them.
“I’ll leave tomorrow morning,” I said, and it was at that moment that I noticed the slightest quiver of disappointment in the wizard’s lip. But he nodded anyway.
“Well, then so be it.”
“Another thing,” I said, “will I be travelling by foot?”
The wizard shook his head and he let out a chuckle, as if I had asked him for a brass coin when he was prepared to give me a gold one.
“First by horse. Then… by something else.”
***
Lanak Tanor
Class: Not yet unlocked
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Level: 0
Strength: 150
Health: 466/500
Mana: 147
Intelligence: 60
Mental carrying capacity: 180/200
Youth:20
Chapter 2: Ranik Gombal
I struggled to control my disappointment at the dinner table. My father, Mr. Mayor, kept shooting me looks every now and then and it was only irritating me further.
“I am done,” I said, getting up from my chair. I downed a glass of water.
“I see you don’t have much appetite today,” father said, observing the food on my plate which had barely been touched.
Enough.
“Why didn’t you tell the wizard that I was the one suitable for the job?” I demanded to my father.
“Are you crazy?” my father said. “The flame chose him. Doesn’t matter what I tell the wizard.”
“You are the darned mayor,” I barked back. “You knew that the person who would be chosen would be given the ability to see stats. The wizard told that to you right after he met you.”
“I do not understand why you should be losing you head over this—”
“Father, you are the one who first told me about the existence of stats. It’s because of your words that I began to dream myself of possessing the ability to see my stats one day, of levelling up, getting loot and what not. It’s because of you that I dream of possessing power, and yet when the opportunity came along you didn’t even care to acknowledge the opportunity!”
My father shook his head. He seemed exasperated. He put a spoonful of rice into his mouth
. I felt like he just wanted to show me how much he cared for me and my feelings… or how much he didn’t.
“You know, parents tell their kids a lot of stuff,” my father said, chewing, “ Some of the stuff they make up, the other stuff actually have their roots in reality. And about becoming powerful, haven’t I already told you that seeing ones stats is not necessary at all to become powerful? All the stats really do is allow you a quick method to observe how you have been performing. It might be that Lanak is a player and so the flames selected him. Maybe he can really save us from the bad things that are coming our way. But the ability to see stats as I have already said are just a little extra help, nothing more.”
“An extra help is a good thing, father,” I fumed.
“But you don’t need the extra help,” father said, “it’s not like you can’t level up and gain new skills. We just don’t receive notifications whenever that happens to us. Why don’t you understand that? Having the ability to see stats and not having it is more or less the same thing.”
“It’s always the players who get to play, isn’t it, father?” I said. Without waiting for any response for him, I marched away to my room. I slammed the door and plopped down on my bed. I gritted my teeth and looked at the stars in the sky outside through the window.
I wanted to hit something. To break things. I wanted an outlet for my anger.
But I would not give myself an outlet for my anger. I would use my anger to fuel myself. Through the window, I could see the guest house about two hundred metres away from our mansion where the wizard and the mahout were staying. The lights were off there and I reckoned the two of them had gone to sleep. The silhouette of the big elephant was very much visible even in the darkness, and it was sitting on the ground just in front of the guest house.
Tomorrow, I shall demand the wizard to give me the power to see stats. If he can give it to Lanak, then he could give it to me. I was the mayor’s son after all. If he turned me down, it would be rude.
Succubi's Curse Online Page 2